Granger returns in familiar ‘sanctimonious tone’ to lecture Guyanese on trust

Ina move that saw him coming to blows by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), former President, former leader of the PNCR, former Chairman of the APNU, and the APNU+AFC Coalition, David Granger, returned to the public spotlight with a lecture on “trust” in the political arena.

In a scathing response, the PPP on Sunday (June 11, 2023), charged that Granger’s ramblings were “seemingly emboldened by the misguided notion” that the Guyanese people suffer from short-memories.

The Party, in a statement, said, “To wax lyrical about trust, while uttering barefaced untruths, in his familiar ‘sanctimonious’ tone, is characteristic of Mr. Granger and his stewardship as a leader.

“First, Mr. Granger’s at- tempt to credit the former APNU+AFC Coalition with the return of Local Government Elections as a signal of the APNU’ commitment to democracy falls flat in the face of the brazen efforts of his administration to block the holding of constitutionally due General and Regional Elections after the passage of a no-confidence motion, as well as the blatant attempts to steal the Election after Guyanese went to the polls on March 2020.

“Secondly, his further efforts to claim that the PPP/C cannot be trusted because it “spurned the Constitution” is unbelievably barefaced. The biggest, most flagrant and persistent violations of our Constitution and laws since Guyana gained independence have marred Mr. Granger's record and that of his administration. Between May 2015 and March 2020, Mr. Granger and/or his Ministers repeatedly broke the law, often with his knowledge, and violated our Constitution. There are more than 15 where, under Mr. Granger’s watch, the Constitution of Guyana was violated. Mr. Granger did not give the sense that he wanted to stop these intrusions on our country's democratic structure with his detached and frequently aloof attitude in the face of these violations. One of the most egregious and poignant memory of his constitutional violations is his unilateral appointment of a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission. Following retired Justice Patterson’s appointment as Chairman, the matter was filed in the High

Court, the Appeals Court and all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice. On June 18, 2019, the CCJ ruled that “we have no choice but to conclude that the process that was followed in the appointment of Justice Patterson was flawed and in breach of Article 161(2)” Guyana’s Constitution. The Caribbean Court of Justice, on three significant occasions, had to intervene to reverse Mr. Granger’s unconstitutional actions.

“Thirdly, Mr. Granger ought to be aware that naming a new town or proclaiming a National Day of Villages

– the only two substantive ‘achievements’ he pointed to in his almost nine-minute spiel – does not evidence a commitment to local democracy or development. It does remind, however, that Mr. Granger presided over a period where ‘pomp and ceremony’ mattered more than the people of this country and their prosperity – the decision to spend billions on food and other forms of consumption at the expense of taxpayers. Mr. Granger would have probably been better served if he, having finally emerged back into the public eye, could have defended or at least attempted a defense of his Administration’s imposition of hardships on our people; the institution of over 200 taxes and fees; the firing of almost 2,000 Amerindians – who were the first of our people to be targeted by his Administration; the firing of thousands in the sugar sector; the massive loss of jobs in the forestry, mining, construction and retail sectors; the removal of the “Because We Care” cash grant from our children; the removal of the one-month bonus for our Joint Services, and the list goes on.

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